GPS

“Since You are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of Your name lead and guide me.” Psalm 31:3

In the 1970’s – in response to the Cold War – the Pentagon developed something called the Navistar. Using 24 satellites orbiting 12,000 miles above the earth, radio broadcasts from the satellites were sent to earthbound receivers. This signal could be used to triangulate the precise location of anything or anyone, anytime, or anywhere. Little did they know they were developing the greatest advance in navigation since the compass.

Today, this technology is known as GPS (Global Positioning System) and has the ability to pinpoint your location within ten meters anywhere you are on the planet. Everyone from airplane pilots and geologists, to golfers and soccer moms, uses GPS. How did this technology developed for military use become a necessity for everyday people like you and me? It is because of several pieces of information most people want at any given moment. We want to know where we are. We do not want to get lost. We want to head in the right direction. We want to get there the best and most hassle-free way.

Life is just like a journey. It is a series of decisions and choices. The decisions we make today will help to determine where we end up in the future, just as past decisions have brought us to where we are today. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a GPS system that could do for us in life what it does for us in travel? Oh to be able to punch in a desired destination and immediately have a life map of the right decisions to lead us there! Life would be so much easier that way, wouldn’t it?

The truth is, God never intended for our lives to be easy. If He provided all of the answers up front, would we even need Him? Would we ever seek Him earnestly and wholeheartedly? Probably not. It is for our good that there is no life GPS system. Tough decisions and uncertainty push us towards Christ and remind us to rely on the Holy Spirit for direction.

Dear Lord, I'm so grateful that you know everything and can see everything. I pray that you would help me to trust you when I can't see what's coming, and that in my uncertainty, I would draw near to you. Amen.